Saturday, March 9th, 2013 at 9:00 am  |  128 responses

Post Up: Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number

Kobe scores 41 to lead the Lakers to an OT win.

by Peter Walsh

Thunder 116 (46-16), Bobcats 94 (13-49)

One night after a grind-it-out win over the Knicks, Oklahoma City caught a break with Charlotte on the schedule and got a dub in blowout fashion. Kevin Durant scored 19 points in 23 minutes to lead OKC who separated themselves from the Bobcats in the second quarter with a 19-0 run. Gerald Henderson scored 21 for Charlotte.

Pacers 115 (38-24), Magic 86 (17-46)

Paul George scored 25 points and Tyler Hansbrough came off the bench to score 18 as the Pacers made light work of the Magic. Much like Oklahoma City, the Pacers used a big second quarter to run away from the Magic and cruised through the second half. Indiana takes on Miami on Sunday. Arron Afflalo led Orlando with 19 points.

Nets 95 (36-26), Wizards 78(19-41)

Deron Williams set a new NBA record with nine first half three-pointers to lead the Nets to an easy win over the Wizards. DWill went off for 42 points and hit 11 3′s by the time it was all said and done. Williams hit his first eight 3-pointers and matched the Wizards entire first half scoring output by himself. Reggie Evans grabbed a career-high 24 boards and Brook Lopez chipped in with 11.

Mavs 102 (28-33), Pistons 99 (23-41)

Dallas led by 15-points in the fourth quarter but the Pistons stormed back making for a tight finish. After the Pistons grabbed a 97-96 lead, Dirk Nowitzki finally woke up after a quiet first three quarters. Dirk hit back to back mid-range jumpers to give the Mavericks enough to hold on for the win. O.J. Mayo scored a game-high 22 points and Nowitzki finished with 12 points and 7 boards. Brandon Knight scored 21 for the Pistons.

Grizzlies 103 (41-19), Cavaliers 92 (21-41)

The Cavs led going into the break but the Grizzlies regrouped at the half and outscored Cleveland 32-18 in the third quarter to take control of the game. Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 22 points, 8 boards and 5 dimes and Mike Conley finished with a 17-point, 11-assist double-double. Kyrie Irving scored 24 points on 11-21 shooting for Cleveland.

 

Celtics 107 (34-27), Hawks 102 (34-27) F/OT

A contest between two teams currently battling for the fifth seed went to overtime where JET added another huge shot notch to his belt with the game winner. With the score knotted at 102 and under a minute left in OT, Paul Pierce drove baseline, drew Atlanta defenders and found Jason Terry with a great pass and JET took care of business with the game winner. Pierce finished with 27 points, 7 boards and 7 dimes and Terry scored 19 off the bench. Josh Smith scored 32 points, dropped 9 dimes and grabbed 8 boards and Al Horford went for 22 points and 13 boards.

 

 

Heat 102 (46-14), Sixers 93 (23-38)

The Heat trailed for three quarters then came alive in the fourth quarter to beat the Sixers and win their 17th in a row. Miami trailed 77-76 before going on a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter that gave them the lead for good. LeBron scored 25, grabbed 10 boards and dropped 5 dimes and Dwyane Wade went for 22 points on 9-16 shooting. Thad Young led Philly with 25 points.

 

Bulls 89 (35-27), Jazz 88 (32-30)

A back and forth game came down to the final seconds and Marco Belinelli’s 3-pointer with time expiring gave Chicago the win. With Chicago trailing by one and the game clock winding down, Belinelli missed his first shot attempt but Joakim Noah grabbed the offensive board and found Jimmy Butler who found a wide open Belinelli for the corner three. Gordon Hayward had a final chance to win but his shot drew iron.

 

Blazers 136 (29-32), Spurs 106 (48-15)

Dame Lillard took advantage of Tony Parker’s absence by going for 35 points, 9 dimes and 0 turnovers to lead Portland to a blowout win over San Antonio. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 and J.J. Hickson finished with a 23-point, 11-assist double-double. Eric Maynor(!) scored 20 and dropped 6 dimes off the bench. Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 18 points and 8 rebounds.

 

Kings 121 (22-42), Suns 112 (22-40)

Sacramento snapped their two-game losing streak with a win over the Suns. Four Kings’ players scored 22 or more points and they were led by Isaiah Thomas’ game-high 27 points 0n 8-13 shooting. DeMarcus Cousins scored 22 points, grabbed 14 boards and dished out 7 dimes. Michael Beasley led the Suns with 24 points.

 

Lakers 118 (32-31, Raptors 116 (24-39) (F/OT)

Kobe Bryant continues to prove that he can still perform at the highest level and carried his time to victory over the Raptors. Bryant finished with 41 points and 12 assists and hit the big shots when his team needed them. Kobe hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 5 seconds remaining in regulation then exploded to the basket for a go-ahead dunk with 10 seconds left in overtime to seal the deal. Dwight Howard scored 24 points and grabbed 13 boards and Steve Nash scored 22. DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points, grabbed 5 boards and dished out 5 assists and Kyle Lowry finished with 15 points and 10 dimes.

Rockets 94 (34-29), Warriors 88 (35-28)

Chandler Parsons scored a game-high 26 points and James Harden scored 20 and handed out 11 assists to lead the Rockets to the victory. Houston is now within one game of the Warriors for the six seed in the Western Conference. Houston held Golden State to just 12 points and won the game despite not scoring a field goal over the final four minutes.

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  • KevinJohnsonFan

    Are you a complete moron? Teams don’t put full court pressure on Miami because of the fact that they have two great ballhandlers in Wade and LeBron. And because LeBron is one of the best passers in basketball so the press would be broken easily. What games are you watching when LeBron is “pressured” and he can’t handle it? And why is that single part of the game so important to you?

  • Allenp

    Equal. Ok boss

  • RKJ92

    LOL circle jerk :)

  • Allen’s

    Enjoyed that

  • RKJ92

    That was beautiful.. I feel sorry I only read this now.. :( lol

  • Dagger

    Exactly. I’ve stopped responding to most comments about Lebron or Kobe unless they say something insightful. Otherwise you’re just repeating the same damn thing over and over again, and you aren’t changing anyone’s opinion. I have no desire to be SLAM’s Sisyphus.

  • Drig

    3.2 TOs. Pretty similar to LeBron’s no (streak comparison )?? I did say he’s been having a bad year TOs wise if you meant this year.

    I agree. The way the Lakers have looked when Dwight is not on the floor ( vs Pelicans, it was painfully obvious ) on D is nothing sort of abysmal. Their defensive rating without Dwight on D might be the worst in the L or at the very least a bottom 5 one.

  • Drig

    Except that’s BS. Messi shouldn’t have gotten the last Ballon D’Or if FIFA had some balls and decided to grade every year equivalently. More individual success for Ronaldo = Ballon D’Or for Messi because of team success. More team success for Ronaldo = Ballon D’Or for Messi because of individual success. And this was in successive years.

    The Ballon D’Or has become sort of a joke the last 2 years. Plus, Ronaldo has brought greater success at teh international level with lesser team compared to Messi with Argentina.

  • Drig

    Me included? :(

  • Max

    LOL at using att and def.

  • Drig

    ” I’ve seen Dwight still being able to produce, albeit below expectations, when he is passed the ball. That’s something Kobe has been doing for less than half the season.”

    So tell me what does that mean. Kobe’s not producing when he is passed the ball for the greater half of the season? How exactly is that any different than saying Dwight has been producing a lot more consistently than Kobe has??

    I didn’t answer any of your questions? Wait, what?

    1. Kobe doesn’t inspire the team with his D : Hell yeah he doesn’t. He’s asked to carry a ton of offensive burden. Plus play heavy minutes. His D is not going to be anywhere close to average or above average for large parts of the season. However, I also said it was unfair to blame him exclusively since his present defense was expected while Howard’s struggles post-January were not by lakers fans.

    2. I did admit that the lakers might end up being mediocre. However, I’m telling you to wait and ensure that the chances of you looking like a moron if the Lakers play well next year completely disappear.

    I did put forth excuses for the team’s performance this year. However, whatever reasons I gave were legit. I’m pretty sure no other contender had to face so many injuries to key players for significant stretches but still came out unscratched.

    I haven’t started claiming the Lakers defensive woes are because they don’t respect their opponents, have I? No, Lakers have defensive woes because they suck on D. Something which can be improved if Pau replaces Jamison.

  • Drig

    While I can understand that, I don’t see how that makes LBJ more skilled. It makes him more effective. Hell, even you said Kobe has more moves down there. Also, why exactly is Kobe an inferior post passer to LBJ?? He’s an inferior playmaker when compared to LBJ no doubt. But his passing when posting up is atleast on par with him. BTW, regarding this post, are we talking about his year???

  • Drig

    My bad. I misunderstood the meaning of your post. I now understand what you mean and I agree

  • Drig

    I meant in ’06. Sigh. I didn’t mean that LeBron had better team throughout the last few years lol. I’d have to be an idiot to claim that. I meant in the 2 year stretch when Kobe was balling outta his mind i.e. in his individual prime but had a bad team that didn’t garner too much success i.e. in 05 and 06. Kobe then went to the Finals once Pau arrived just like LeBron went to the Finals once he got help.

    I can see how you came to that conclusion though. Good job with the meme.

  • Drig

    I suck at analogies. Thanks for reassuring me that all is right with me and the world.

  • Drig

    I didn’t say Kobe could lock down other superstars, right?? I said Kobe could guard his matchups and defend them solidly in his prime. Not all time legendary defensive levels. Solid. He did blow by his matchups on O. I also did say Kobe was the more versatile defender who can defend everyone. If it’s the att and def ratings, I’m sorry that I suck at analogies.

  • Drig

    Damn it, I didn’t imply that Kobe did more with less those seasons! Also, I would like to ask you one thing : Do you think the Cavs could’ve made it past the 2nd round if the same team was in the West for any year since the start of the decade? Of course Kobe needed more help. He has been playing in the tougher conference for almost the entire span of his career.

    Anyways, RK said that LBJ is better than whatever Kobe could do in his prime. I said it’s tough to say that when LBJ, in his prime ( which is now ), has a strong cast to help him out while Kobe, in HIS prime, had a team in shambles which wanted to cut costs at every corner.

    Hell, I even followed it up by asking if there was any other wing player who faced a similar situation. I thought that’d have provided enough context…….

  • Drig

    BTW, this was a purely soccer related post. Nothing to do with the Kobe-LBJ comparison that I have got drawn into.

  • Drig

    Isn’t that the same with every other team which heavily features and depends on the offensive abilities of their star player, regardless of his choice???

  • Caboose

    Definitely not

  • z

    You summed up.the kobe vs bron argument succinctly earlier; unfortunately none of the children caught the lesson you were teaching. It’s essentially a choice of which player you prefer (since both are great.players…can the lebronners at least concede that kobe’s a great player), a choice that says more about YOU and your taste in bball than it does about which of them’s better. If you prefer players who are aesthetically pleasing to watch, ballsy, and have all the skill a player could ever have, the choice is probably an easy one for you. Conversely, if you like ubermensches dominating their “competition” and playing “the right way” it’s an even easier one for you. And if you’re a genuine fan of the game like me then you sit back enjoy both while we got em and laugh at all you dumbasses that get so worked up about changing minds. You guys do realize you’re not changing anyone else’s opinions, i hope…

  • MrGee

    Right…. JCraw #29′th in the L in scoring and…. Westbrook. #6.

    perfect example.

    “What does more skilled mean”? Someone playing dumb?

    Quick…Shaq or Hakeem,.. who was “more skilled offensively”?

    By “do more” do you mean score more pts? as in the current #3 in scoring as apposed to the #4?

    Back to your wack @ss list:

    Take away Post scoring, and Post passing. Ditto “helping teammates”…you can keep “playmaking” same thing chief. Again driving and finishing what good is one withought the other? (more redundant filler) you can keep finishing. You now have 7 bullets for king.

    “-whispers- I was being generous.” The Irony…

    You gave beef
    4 bullets…

    -Mid-Range Scoring
    -Mid/Long-Range Shooting
    -Game Winning/Momentum Shots
    -Breaking Double Teams

    Now add:

    -Post scoring

    So breaking down “offensive skillsets”…LeBron is basically “more efficient”.

    Keep in mind this Kobe guy is 5th all-time in scoring pts…yeah he’ll be taking that #4 spot from some Chamberlain guy in 184 pts. Next season he’ll surpass another guy..named mike. Sigh..

  • The Seed

    When Lebron was going on the hot streak, nobody mention Bosh or Wade numbers, they were insane too. Go check them. You must really hate Kobe. LOL

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    Passing is a skill. Rebounding is a skill. Shot blocking is a skill. Playing elite man to man and help defense against everyone from centers to point guards is a skill. Ask yourself how Kobe matches up to Lebron at these “skills”.

  • playa

    Let’s make things clear,kobe CAN post up almost anybody whoever is guarding him including lebron(which he did multiple times in the past) but fact that lebron is so much bigger than him make him a bit more effective but just a little bit,mind you

  • The Fury

    Aight, I understood. But I still won’t change how I thought/feel lol.

  • http://twitter.com/conorklnohara Ó hEaghra

    Kobe is the best, simple and plain.

  • LakeShow

    I agree.
    Because guys like Kobe, Durant, LeBron all show up nightly. That’s why Bosh is Miami’s most important player. As is Westbrook for the Thunder.

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